The present invention is a frame placed in front a viewer""s eyes for making images from television (TV) sets and movies appear 3-dimensional (3-D).
A number of products and methods have been developed for producing 3-D images from two-dimensional images. Steenblik in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,597,634, 4,717,239, and 5,002,364 teaches the use of diffractive optical elements with double prisms, one prism being made of a low-dispersion prism and the second prism being made of a high Some 3-D viewing systems are relatively simple, as is the present invention. Takahaski, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,344 teach the use of spectacles based on the Pulfrich effect with light filtering lens of different optical densities. Beard in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,371 teaches the use of gradients of optical densities in going from the center to the periphery of a lens. Hirano in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,951 teaches the use of spectacles with lenses that can rotate about a vertical axis to create stereoscopic effects. Laden in U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,339 teaches the use of spectacles with opaque temples and an opaque rectangular frame, except for triangular shaped lenses positioned in the frame adjacent to a nosepiece.
The present invention is an opaque frame that can be placed in front of a user""s eyes like a pair of glasses. The frame has two rectangular apertures. These apertures are spaced to be directly in front of the user""s eyes. One aperture is empty; the other opening has plural vertical strips made of polyester film. The surface of the strips facing away from the person""s face might optionally be painted black. The aperture with the vertical strips contains a diffractive optical material between the outermost vertical strip and the outer edge of the opening. Images from a television set or a movie screen appear three dimensional when viewed through the frame with both eyes open. The present invention provides a simple frame for stereoscopic viewing that is inexpensive to fabricate.